Colin Kaepernick is doing little to help his own cause

Posted by Mike Florio on June 18, 2017, 12:13 PM EDT

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The ongoing unemployment of Colin Kaepernick raises plenty of important questions regarding truth and lies and right and wrong in the NFL. But Kaepernick has done himself few favors when it comes to nudging public opinion in his favor.

On one hand, it may not matter; public opinion tends to cure quickly, and to become more permanent than a tattoo. On the other hand, Kaepernick may not care. Regardless, Kaepernick hasn’t helped himself — if his goal remains to get a job with an NFL team.

All we’ve heard from Kaepernick came from the well-timed leak to Adam Schefter that Kaepernick will stand for the national anthem in 2017.

“Kaepernick no longer wants his method of protest to detract from the positive change he believes has been created,” Schefter wrote one week before the start of free agency. “He also said the amount of national discussion on social inequality — as well as support from other athletes nationwide, including NFL and NBA players — affirmed the message he was trying to deliver.”

Kaepernick has never said that directly, however. Kaepernick has publicly said nothing at all about his unemployment, his football objectives, his plans (or lack thereof) to engage in further public gestures or statements on the sideline, in the locker room, on the practice field, or during games. Apart from telling Shannon Sharpe that things being said publicly about his contractual expectations ($9 million or $10 million for 2017) aren’t true, Kaepernick has provided no facts regarding what he wants or expects.

To the extent that Kaepernick deliberately opted to sit back and wait for the phone to ring or for teams to line up to sign a guy who nearly won a Super Bowl in early 2013 and who threw 16 touchdown passes against four interceptions in 2016, the strategy proved that teams that should have wanted him didn’t, for reasons that seem flimsy at best. At some point, that strategy needed to change — if Kaepernick’s goal was and is to play NFL football in 2017.

At some point, his agent needed to pick up the phone and call every team and tell them what they needed to hear to possibly develop genuine interest in Kaepernick.

We still don’t know what he wants, because we haven’t heard it from him. We still don’t know his financial expectations. We don’t know if he’ll take any spot he can get on an NFL depth chart. We don’t know whether he’d consider going to Canada if that’s what it takes to continue playing football.

We do know that he still has concerns about the interactions between the police and African-Americans and people of color, based on the tweet he posted in response to the acquittal of the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile.

“A system that perpetually condones the killing of people, without consequence, doesn’t need to be revised, it needs to be dismantled!” Kaepernick said, with a photo of a modern-day police badge next to a “Runaway Slave Patrol” badge. Apart from giving those who already dislike Kaepernick’s views more ammunition for doing so, his tweet should invite speculation as to whether what was leaked to Schefter in early March still applies in mid-June, and whether the outcome in the Castile case makes Kaepernick inclined to kneel during the anthem, again.

Plenty of people have been pushing back against the flawed assumptions and false narratives being circulated by a league that stubbornly won’t admit he’s being shunned for reasons other than ability. At some point, Kaepernick needs to get involved in the process. Sit for an interview. Issue a statement. Write a column. Create a video. Do something to break the silence that possibly started as a sociological experiment to see whether he’d get the same attention in free agency that guys like Brock Osweiler and Mike Glennon did in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

With offseason programs over and Kaepernick still unsigned, it’s time for Kaepernick to address what he wants, what he plans to do, what his interactions with teams have been, and whether he believes he’s been overlooked due to talent or politics. Until he says something on his own on these topics, there’s nothing more to say about his status.

Really? This clown is still on his anti-police crusade and now he’s calling for the destruction of our legal system? He is a bonafide whack job. Clearly his circle of influence is damaging toward his career. Hate is never a just cause.

Florio you kill me…………You must be Kraps agent as hard as you are campaigning to keep him in the league. He HAS and IS showing you what he wants……….football has become a side job for this clown. He has neither the talent or desire to be a winner on the field so he is audititioning to be a replacement for the Rev’s sharpton & jackson once the retire.

This guy…….must be nice to do the opposite of what other fringe players have to do to get on a team, yet still have a percentage of the media chastise teams for not falling over each other to sign him.

Sorry, but even if he is being shunned by teams what is so wrong with that? I don’t know of any employer out there that is going to keep an employee who is constantly in the news drawing negative attention. Regardless of if you agree with him or not, freedom of speech does not promise you protection against the public (or your employer) shunning you because of your words or actions.

Florio, what is with you and this crusade of yours to get Kaepernick on to an NFL roster? The public is not behind him and never will be. No amount of pieces you write about him will change anyone’s mind. NFL owners are intelligent people, they can see he’s toxic and is more trouble than he’s worth. The media circus is like sharks just swimming around this situation waiting for him to land somewhere so they can bombard that organization with the kind of attention that divides locker rooms, divides fan bases, divides sponsorship’s, divides management, and tears apart things that are currently whole. Who wants that?… and for him? He made his bed, let him lie in it. Let him be the shining example that will keep generations of kids on the straight and narrow moving forward. Let that be his cross to bare, don’t take that away from him. Give his message meaning. Lesson learned… shut up and just play ball.

(checks watch) “Hmmm, it must be (insert any day of the week) because Kaepernick is being mentioned again.” I remember (clearly), before any of this happened, thinking, ‘looks like the other teams have figured this guy out.” I also remember the sense of uncertainty and confusion that he seemed (to me) to project while on the field, fairly often. He didn’t (doesn’t) have that Brady- insert ‘just about’ any talented starting quarterback; a man in command of the moment who can, quickly and authoritatively, make the necessary decisions as windows open and close all around him. He seemed lost, often.

Personally, I’ve never had an argument with the issues he was bringing up. I objected to the arrogant persona he carried around with the issues and especially visual statements like wearing socks that showed cops as pigs. That… in particular really got to me. I know a lot about policemen, my father was one. I know they come in all types and some are not honorable and good men and some of them are. In the main, like firemen, they do a very important job and we don’t see the behind the scenes things that they are up against or the nobility they demonstrate that is often left out of the crass media’s portrayal of them.

Nothing across the land is as ugly as political correctness, our engineered and heavily financed version of the Khmer Rouge Tango. Mr. Florio is a true believer of this viral plague and it has a lot to do with his thing for Kaepernick, much like the Washington Redskin item that never went anywhere and that even Native Americans (in the large majority) did not care about.

I do not conflate Kaepernick’s absence from professional football with his political grandstanding, which is what I have seen as his transparent effort to make a name for himself when he saw his skills no longer adequate for the needs of the field. I see him as not capable to the degree that his OTHER area of operation can be overlooked. The truth is that hardly anyone likes or supports him and most everyone wants him to go away… just go away. Florio seems unable to let this die its own natural death. Kaepernick’s fate is in Kaepernick’s hands and there is plenty he could do and have done that he hasn’t. He has made himself appear extremely unlikable and that CANNOT be manifested in the lineup of any NFL team. Bottom line, it isn’t worth it and he isn’t worth it.

Florio has tragically transformed Pro Football Talk into Political Football Tirades. Kaepernick HAS advanced his goal – to be a political martyr based on the simplistic assumptions of those in the media who support his political or social objectives. Kaepernick’s position on the jury verdict illustrates his superficiality and character traits that led to his failure as a football player. He doesn’t work on details or inconvenient facts – he ignores them. He did not attend the trial for the killing of Philando Castile, view the evidence or hear the arguments yet he disputes the verdict of a jury that did! He wants to change the political landscape but doesn’t vote. He wants to play football but has apparently not engaged a QB tutor. He wants back into the NFL on his terms – not those of the league or teams.

So about Kaep’s last twitter post about the officer getting no jail time for killing another UNARMED black man, well if you are passionate human you could understand Kaep’s pain.

If you are “extreme patriotic” and think your race is dying because of inter-racial children being born by a white mother of father and some one non-white….yep you mad…anyway for you so-called Americans that HIDE behind your 2nd amendment, because you are afraid of intellectual conversation that kills alternative-facts, talks about white supremacist, yeah that type. The out of the closet and the ones that’s still in the closet. YOU don’t like Keap doing what he’s doing! Too bad. The problem with is that’s half of the NFL fan base.

More athletes will do the same for EQUAL JUSTICE FIRST AND THEN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY SECOND. You understand that these athletes have the money that doesn’t shut them up, and that’s why you can’t stand to hear them loud and proud.

If you mention anything about “I don’t want to hear anything about opportunity”…stfrankup! Your people has a 250 year head start, over everyone else America! And about Keap being trash. Kill that noise. He’s better than at least half of the starting Qbs in the league. His ratting was better than Bree’s and River’s last year with a bad team, while giving up a million dollars to charities. Stfrankup!

Anyway..

You are afraid of this country moving on and that’s the problem. Down vote this truth all you want. It’s expected!

RGIII — Inept pocket passer who can only function in junk offense no longer used in the NFL.

Kaepernick — Inept pocket passer who can only function in junk offense no longer used in the NFL.

Cutler — Inept pocket passer who teases you before destroying your hopes and can’t function in an NFL offense.

Yet we only get 500 stories a day about one privileged athlete who grew up in a town (Turlock) that was so upper-middle-class white that his rich parents had to drive an hour out of town to get him corn-rows.

weepingjebus says:
Jun 18, 2017 12:45 PM
The NFL rests on a three legged stool: owners, players, and fans. The fans rarely agree on much, but when they do they are mighty. The fans have spoken on Kaepernick. It is over.

Kaepernick peaked at 29% for ‘most hated’ NFL player.

Michael ‘the Dog Killer’ Vick peaked at 60%. Vick, despite being hated twice as much as Kaepernick managed to find a job.

I don’t think the fan negatives are the issue. I think it’s just that he, like RGIII is done in the NFL because they can’t play well enough as starting QBs and require a special college-level junk-offense that nobody runs anymore.

“Until he says something on his own on these topics, there’s nothing more to say about his status.”

OK. I hope you hold yourself to your own words. I think most of the daily readers of PFT have grown tired of the constant drum beat for a guy who hasn’t even declared he is still interested in playing this Game.

I won’t bother to rehash to counter argument that Kaep has already gone way past the “not worth the trouble” line.

Kaepernick is not entitled to anything. There are a few hundred free agents out there who think they are better football players than this or that guy on whatever team and who think the are being wronged for some reason. I will bet Revis thinks he should be on some team. I don’t see any articles about any of them.

Use Colin Kaepernick as the perfect example of how NOT to use the NFL as a vessel for your political agenda. Kaepernick’s message wasn’t the issue; it was the method in which he was trying to deliver it that became the problem. He modified his method of ‘protest’ so as to not offend the brave men and women that have fought and died defending his right to do so, but the damage had already been done and there was no coming back from that.

Keep your political views to yourself. And if you can’t help yourself, then at least be smart with your delivery method.

I don’t think the fan negatives are the issue. I think it’s just that he, like RGIII is done in the NFL because they can’t play well enough as starting QBs and require a special college-level junk-offense that nobody runs anymore.
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That makes sense, but I’ve seen more than 1 guy who actually gets paid to analyze the plays and grade QBs say that it’s a false narrative.

Kaepernick is correct. The judicial system (particularly the prison system) is a for-profit institution designed to either incarcerate or eliminate the black population.

People who refuse to see this and would rather be illogically infuriated at someone who introduces polarizing dialogue regarding a country with a past that includes: mass slavery of blacks, rape and devastation of Native Americans, and the current traumatization of their own people (eg. Flint, Michigan) well…… there’s no hope. The US is going down. For a country that claims to be Christian, they behave in a way that can only be described as ‘anything but.’

Listen Man at some point enough is enough. You sound extremely ignorant with all your Kaepernick Rants. Seriously during the 2016 season you published a PFT article claiming that Blake Bortles is overrated. Your reasoning was that Bortles boosted his stats in the 4th quarter of blowout games to make him look average. You compiled and analysed his stats by quarter and showed that Bortles did not do much of anything in the first 3 quarters.

Now the reason I bring this up is that the same thing can be said for Kaepernick. Kaepernick is not as good as his touchdown to interception ratio implies.
Frequently you point out that Kaepernick has a touchdown:interception ratio of 16 to 4. However you neglect that in the Bears game he was only 1 of 5 for 4 yards!!! True Kaepernick does not turn the ball over much but he is inaccurate based on his poor completion percentage. He was only 59% for the season. Also for his first two starts he averaged 46% completion 165 yards and 5.6 yards per attempt. Those numbers are atrocious. And another thing is that Kaepernick only threw for over 220 yards in 3 of his 11 starts. Colin is a terrible checkdown and run quarterback. Everyone knows the 49ers offense was Carlos Hyde last year and Kaepernick and Gabbert held the team back. I’m not saying that the 49ers are a good team but they will be better without Kaepernick and Gabbert. It it is extremely hard to be worse than those two!!

LastlyKaepernick is not a pocket passer and has a very unique skill set that requires an entire offense built around him. Teams want their backup quarterbacks to be able to run the exact same offense as the starter. Now in some cases the offense may be simplified for the backup but it does not require drastic changes. For Kaepernick drastic changes are required. For these reasons Kaepernick has not been offered a job.

You want football reasons and those are facts. Colin Kaepernick is not a good quarterback and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that.

If you know that you’re going to be rejected, why grovel? I am not a Kap fan but I think he’s going to hold his head high and keep his dignity, and if a phone call comes, he’ll visit the team, and if not, he’s not going to exhaust all his energies just so he can be rejected by every team. I think he knows the game.

IMO, I think the NFL is by far the most patriotic and nationalistic of the sports leagues. They often have military ceremonies, honor the police, and they know their audience, and this is a selling point of the league.

Meanwhile, the police and military know that football is a testosterone charged, aggressive sport and that it’s going to attract men who are seeking aggression and violence for entertainment. They know that their regular presence at NFL games is an advertisement to these aggressive types, who are suitable for military and police service.

So along comes Kap and attacks all of the above; patriotism, military, police, etc. In a nutshell, he’s attacking their brand and is bad for business.

The NFL owners know that he offended the military and police and will side with them. Kap will never play in the NFL again.

droppedinagreasefire says:
Jun 18, 2017 2:00 PM
Hey fan boys. You ever hear of a dude named Martin Luther King? The US has a federal holiday in his honor. All he did was protest poor treatment of the blacks. Ring a bell?
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I agree with you,we need a federal holiday celebrating the great achievements of Colin Kaepernick too.

Like so many others, I am tired of Kaep. I’m especially tired of references to his making it to the Super Bowl in 2013. Trent Dilfer repeatedly has said on TV that he wasn’t a very good QB, but he won a Super Bowl. Why? His defense. What kind of defense did the 49ers have in 2013? Did Kaep carry them there? NO

Notice that he allegedly promised not to protest in 2017? So you bring him in on a 3 year contract? What’s he going to do in 2018?

Yes, I want to be entertained by a football game and dislike when politics overshadow the game. I just don’t think Kaep is anywhere near being a good enough quarterback to take in the distractions.

The only one who gives a crap are you media types. This should have died long ago except for you click maniacs. If I demonstrated at my place of business, I would expect to be fired on the spot. Because he WAS a celebrity, he was coddled. The owner of a company sets the rules for their employees. Obey the rules or be sanctioned. He could do anything he wanted off the clock and off the company property. He made his bed, let him lie in it and for heavens sake, media – let it alone!!!

briang123 says:
Jun 18, 2017 1:57 PM
That’s pretty closed-minded, saying that his exercising of his freedom of speech is preventing him from finding a job.
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…wow….looks like we have finally come full circle. your observation is spot on…no matter how “close Minded” it may feel to you.

While I take issue with the article’s sentiment that Kap “is doing little to help his own cause”, the tenor in the comments section is FAR more troubling.

To address the former I only have this question: What if Kaps cause isn’t to get back on an NFL roster at any cost? #shudder Obviously PFT has its stake in talking all things football, and CK’s “jobless” state is definitely a football conversation worth having, for a muriad of reasons (Brock Osweiler having a spot on a roster and a check to cash whike Kap sits idle for instance).

There’s no question that CK has the talent to at least hold a clip board… Run a scout team… Start for the Jets or the Browns maybe (all of those scenarios are comparable). To debate that FACT is folly and a waste of time. Much like in the Ray Rice situation, NFL teams reluctance to brink Kap on illuminate the leagues true priorities and lack or moral fortitude.

That being said, its an exclusive fraternity, quite similar to private golf clubs, and its 32 members are free to discriminate against whomever they want, whenever and however they choose. File it under “is what it is”… Even if “it” is spineless.

Kap’s silence forces us all to take him at his word, or lack there of. Maybe, just maybe (whisper) he’s found fulfilment in something outside of the grand old game. I know… Perish the thought. Maybe Kap’s stance for justice for ALL has given him what football possibly hasn’t… A sense of purpose. Thats just crazy pro football talk.

Which brings me to the comment section.

To read the reaction to this article… Is far more indicative of where the NFL stands as a whole, forever pandering to its base.

I wish I could say that I read the 30 comments before my own in disbelief, but that would be a lie. My eyes scanned expectantly, and God bless your heart football fan you didnt disappoint.

The callous, dismissive, “he’s a douche bag and not even that good” theme isn’t as troubling as it is sad. Not that UNISEF ad kinda sad, either. Im talking that “so let me get this straight, you still think pro wrestling is real, the world is flat AND you voted for Trump?” kinda sad.

I know, I know… Football fan just wants his fall Sundays, Mondays, soon to be Wednesdays and Thursdays thought free and Amurrica heavy. There’s no place in this escape for Kaepernick’s brand of nonsense (Did we mention how unAmurrrrican he is exercising his right to speak and act freely on his beliefs).

Murrrican football fans like their QB’s to be winners first and just a shade outside of bona fide sexual assaulters, like Ben Roethlisberger (too soon?).

Was that unfair? Maybe… But is it really though? “Football is America and America loves football. Kaepernick dissed America so he doesn’t deserve to play football! And come to think of it that guy sucks anyway!”

Im paraphrasing… But thats how the comments basically read.

It is that cross section of genius that these NFL front office execs are fearful of upsetting, or even more frighteningly, stand in agreement with, that has Kap permanently sidelined… Nothing more. And we all know it.

For the record, I am a football fan… Been a Packer Backers since the days of the Magic Man… And I support CK’s stance.

Collin stood… Or knelt in this instance for something he believed in more than the vestiges of a game. Something we all should believe in as Americans… Or at least one would assume. The indiscriminate killing of any citizen at the hands of the police… White, black, Hispanic, Asian, without recourse or repercussion doesnt make us safer. And in the case of African Americans, one of which I am, the trend reinforces a far more troubling American theme.

“You can dunk our basketballs, run, pass and catch our footballs, hit our baseballs, but at any time we see fit, we’ll rip your right to due process away. Things are better until we see that nothing’s really changed. And really… What are you gonna do about it?”.

I guess in this case, if you’re Calin Kaepernick you had better not say a damn thing if you wanna keep your job.

Luckily for those concerned with more than just football… Kap’s not worried about it.

“…it’s time for Kaepernick to address what he wants, what he plans to do, what his interactions with teams have been, and whether he believes he’s been overlooked due to talent or politics. Until he says something on his own on these topics, there’s nothing more to say about his status.”
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Sounds like you tried to get him to talk to PFT, and he turned you down.

If this guy actually cared about the causes that he espouses, perhaps he should have conducted himself in a manner that would have given him a higher chance of retaining an NFL job, and therefore the salary to ACTUALLY HELP some of his so called causes for years to come. Without the multimillion $ salary, he will not be in as good of a financial position to help his causes.

I doubt that he cared much anyway. If i recall correctly, he only started donating money after it was called to the public’s attention that he had not, long after he started his kneeling. Why wasn’t he donating 3-4 years ago, etc.

Isn’t it ironic that we’re talking about kapernick on Father’s Day when he doesn’t even know his own father?! Kraperdick was raised by white people. Now he rails against white people. No owner would want this ungrateful, talentless a-hole representing or leading their expensive franchise

In essence the NFL is good with dead beat father’s, drunken drivers, womanizers, alleged sexual assaulters, and man slaughterersm (check the record before you object)… All deserving of work and or a second chance. But free thinkers? Not so much. And that apparently echoes the sentiment of its fan base. At the least, Kaepernick stood for one of the chief corner stones of American culture, the right to due process, and apparently is being black balled for his stance.

In essence the NFL is good with dead beat father’s, drunken drivers, womanizers, alleged sexual assaulters, and man slaughterersm (check the record before you object)… All deserving of work and or a second chance. But free thinkers? Not so much. And that apparently echoes the sentiment of its fan base. At the least, Kaepernick stood for one of the chief corner stones of American culture, the right to due process, and apparently is being black balled for his stance.
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Use Colin Kaepernick as the perfect example of how NOT to use the NFL as a vessel for your political agenda. Kaepernick’s message wasn’t the issue; it was the method in which he was trying to deliver it that became the problem. He modified his method of ‘protest’ so as to not offend the brave men and women that have fought and died defending his right to do so, but the damage had already been done and there was no coming back from that.

Keep your political views to yourself. And if you can’t help yourself, then at least be smart with your delivery method.

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None of the Black veterans, going all the way back to the time of Crispus Attucks, would have a problem with his method. In fact, they’d celebrate him as someone that has the guts to take a stand, or a knee for that matter. I know it might be hard, but think about it, serving your country and returning as a slave, indentured servant or 2nd-class citizen. You served in the Middle East but return home only to get profiled because of the car you’re driving!? Open your narrow mind, because in my very humble opinion, he shouldn’t have modified his stance at all.

Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, Michael Moore, Colin Kaepernick. They all breed hate and have a agenda that has caused this country to be in terrible turmoil. Kaepernick Is a cancer the NFL knows it as well. He offers this country mother as well as the NFL. !

Sorry Kapernick, but a jury of twelve ruled in favor of the police officer. Isn’t a person to be tried by a jury of his peers supposed to happen……..what is it that you want?, that in every encounter with the public, the officer is always guilty…….please go and do their job if you have all the answers.

LOL at the guy who said he would take Bob Griffin over Kaepernick. Kap’s an NFL caliber player; Bob is a former track athlete incapable of running an NFL offense.
Nevertheless, Kap has probably played his last NFL game. It’s not often at all players get years off from the league then come back to assume starring roles. Amazing though, that there are actual criminals in the league but a guy who doesn’t stand for the National Anthem is blackballed.

True Kaepernick does not turn the ball over much but he is inaccurate based on his poor completion percentage. He was only 59% for the season. Also for his first two starts he averaged 46% completion 165 yards and 5.6 yards per attempt. Those numbers are atrocious.

That’s onlytrue because when he throws the ball the closest receiver is often in the 3rd row of the stands.

I’ve seen it from the team I follow. They finally wised up and purposely signed lesser talent to shut up the media and the fan base. Does that make them a worse team? Absolutely.

So, yeah. CK is probably better than the best backup on any given team, but he comes with way too much publicity. He’s automatically going to trigger talk. If a team has a shaky starting QB, you’re already walking towards Pandora’s box with one hand stretched to open it by signing him. Hence, the “He’s a starting QB” label.

That said, he really didn’t play well last year. Stats aside, go look at the games he started last year on NFL Rewind. He’s a shell of his former self.

The general manager of the New York Giants stated that fans of his team would no longer support his team if Colin signs with the Giants. As far I am concerned, Colin is better off riding into the sunset and bid farewell to playing in the N F L since his political stances have ticked off the fans and owners of the league.

What do you mean he is not helping himself? Maybe is doing exactly what he wants. Maybe he prefers to sit back and let things develop. There are no good deals for him right now but as the season unfolds that could change to where there is a better situation than what he would have to settle for to get signed today. He may also want some peace and quiet while he waits.

Florio, PFT, Freeman, and a few others might want to see him on a team asap but none of you are asking Kaep what he wants. Along with trying to decide for owners what they should be doing you seem to also be deciding for Kaep what he should be doing. Its very possible Kaep is very content to play a waiting game and to stay quiet. He is probably wishing everyone else would be quiet too.

I was blessed to know both my parents for my entire life. They weren’t perfect but overall they were good, hard working people. Thank God for mom and dad for stickin too together cuz we don’t know how. Hey yah.

Anyway, Kap, if you’re reading this, I’d suggest you go out and find your real dad. It may make you whole again, instead of feeling the need to try to do justice in the world and make you feel complete.

I want to thank the 49ers for cutting krapernick. I was ready to boycott the 49ers if he had stayed on the team. I’m glad he’s gone. And I’m looking forward to watching some great football games around the league if krapernick remains unemployed by the NFL. Krapernick should stop being a lazy bum and look for a job. That’s why everyone goes to college. To get a good job after you graduate.

Now we know why the Seahawks passed on Kaepernick – even Pete Carroll could see the future. Kaepernick’s latest message makes clear that he intends to use any position in the NFL as a pulpit to spew his divisive political message. He has done NOTHING to promote his NFL career (no QB tutor; using a health club trainer as his mentor; silence about his intentions, etc.) and everything to create a torrent of social invective. No team wants to focus on the social issues facing the nation so Kaepernick has made a conscious decision to be a political martyr who will never need to address his shortcomings as an NFL QB because no team will hire him.

abninf says:
Jun 18, 2017 1:23 PM
“What was little reported, and not at all here, was that last month he told 200 black children in Chicago that they’re all oppressed and gave them the Black Panther 10 Point Platform.”

I went to an elite college in the ’70s, and one of the things I was looking forward to was putting the racial nonsense I’d seen in school behind me. But the blacks at the college segregated themselves completely from the whites. I made the mistake of sitting at a “black” table in the dining hall. Never made that mistake again. Years later I learned that Black Panthers were very active there, and they pushed very hard for the black students to have nothing to do with the whites. First off, who were the racists? And what crap is Kaepernick pushing? I just shudder thinking back. We need that in this country like we need the Spanish Flu.

At this point, there is ample reason to suspect that Kap has invited the dreaded perception among NFL personnel guys that he isn’t 100% “committed to football”. This is the sort of thing that saw a Rhodes scholar go undrafted. What’s more, when he finally did get his chance, he busted out fairly quickly. Part-time, “distracted” players aren’t much welcome in the league, whether they’re newly “woke” QBs with scheme-fit issues or a guy with all of the brains and character in the world, like Myron Rolle.

People wondee why PFT has a story everyday on Kaep. Well look at the number of comments. Kaep stories draws more hits than any other subject. Hose tjat hate come to bash him and those whp love him comes to defend him. So why would PFT stop the stories when it keeps hits coming during the down time for the NFL.

The Almighty Cabbage says:
Jun 18, 2017 1:20 PM
When protests get out of hand, people say “I would have no problem with peaceful protest.”

Then there’s a peaceful protest and they have all kinds of problems with it.

I’m no fan of Kaepernick… but I’m even less a fan of hypocrisy.

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Slow down there dude. He wasnt arrested for it or punished in any way. No one is rallying to silence him. Guys simply dont seem to be saying they are willing to pay him for it either. He is not a good QB so really giving him a platform would be the only thing an owner would be paying for. And not coming forward to pay for something is simply a perogative everyone has.

Its possible (even easy to set up) to do a crowd sourcing from all the people that supported his protest to pay him at least a league minimum or possibly more depending how much folks are willing to pony up if they are talking about their own wallets instead of somebody else’s. Just sayin’ that if the supporters really mean it…

“system that perpetually condones the killing of people, without consequence, doesn’t need to be revised, it needs to be dismantled!” Kaepernick – Is he talking about the unbelievable amount of black-on-black murder or just people of color vs people of color murder? He should spend a little more of his time and energy looking into some of those problems. And there ARE consequences to all of the issues he speaks of, they just are not the consequences he is looking for.

There a couple questionable killings. No one wants to see innocent people killed or even harrassed.
So let’s condemn all cops because of a few.
Ok, should we condemn all blacks because of all the innocent lives being taken by black gang bangers here in chicago?

I felt sorry for Kap at first. But after this forget it.
Him and his Black Panther Nazi freinds want to start a race war. Good luck with that becasue NO one will win.

I am a US Navy veteran who served for 12 years, including a tour in Kuwait. While roverboy1949 above me speaks on Black-on-Black murder (89%) when White-on-White murder (84%) is around the same number. He, and others speak to Black-on-Black murder as if we should completely ignore when murders are committed by cops who are then exonerated.

If any one of us killed another person because we were scared that they MIGHT have a weapon, or that we were just scared we would face jail time for at the very least involuntary manslaughter. But cops, completely exonerated like they did nothing wrong.

Kaepernick kneeled for this reason. That the people who signed up for a job to protect are killing people and getting off, and others are ignoring what he was kneeling for in order to maintain anger at him kneeling. It’s so ridiculous that saying it makes me shake my head.

I think it is absurd Kaepernick isn’t on a NFL roster.
I would like to know Kaepernick’s part in why he isn’t? Meaning his money demands and if he is willing to come in as a back up for a team or not. Kaepernick is better than a lot of NFL QB’s standing on the sidelines.

Why do articles continually report the NFL and their “false narrative,” as to why CK is not on any teams roster ? What makes the media feel they are entitled to any explanation ?

The owners don’t have to give you a reason. They hire and fire hundreds of players every season, some of them for off the field issues. That is their right. It is their money and their brand.

CK has the right to say whatever he wants, and so do the owners. The owners have spoken loud and clear. Do not bring the NFL into your personal politics. That is something CK did NOT have the right to do.

So much ink spilled by the left leaning media for this guy make you wonder. Do sport writers even care about their more traditional audience? Keep trying to rehabilitate him if you want. He might end up not being the only person out of a job. Ask the football folks over at ESPN that we’re let go. PC isn’t selling this year.

Sounds like the media wants Kap to do a ‘song and dance’ and beg to play in the NFL. Give massa, err these owners his word that he won’t rock the boat. When the NFL or anyone for that matter, wants to low ball you…..they will. Anyone who says half of these qbs starting in the NFL are better than Kap, is saying it out of spite. They know better, but personal hate clouds judgment. Five years from now, he will be remembered as the guy who stood up for what is right and the NFL ‘X”ed him out. All those spewing percentages between blacks killing blacks and whites killing blacks, clearly haven’t dated back to the 1600s. Second, that doesn’t give white cops (our so-called protectors) to kill us. Third, maybe naysayers are just saying ‘don’t worry about us killing you, until you clean up your internal problem’. Kap said he would stand. What else you want? Wait, I know…….don’t say nothing. Just take the money ‘the man’ is giving you and be quiet. Let the slow genocide of our race continue.

Slow genocide?Really?Where is all the uproar of what has happened for centuries on the continent of africa where people have been slaughtered and are still being slaughtered by their neighbors.Every race at one point in time was enslaved…who built the pyramids?As for being oppressed, I see people of all walks of life enjoying the fruits of their labor and not blaming others for not being able to.I also see people of all walks of life blaming “the man” for their failures..ironic.Grow up and smell the roses.

Your response is to ‘grow up’? Cops killing blacks for no real apparent reason means ‘grow up’? In other words, you want us to do what I mentioned in the last sentence. Move on and ignore it. Who in the heck is blaming anyone for anything? You think I’m talking about slavery? I’m talking about killing black men for basically sport for 400 years. It is still happening today. It is what Kap is talking about. That is your problem. You either don’t understand what the problem is or you are ignoring it. You bring upAfrica. You don’t give a crap about what’s happening here. So I know you made that statement for irrelevancy.

If you think “the man”is killing people for sport because the color of their skin then explain why people are getting killed for the color of their clothes?I dare anyone to go undercover and walk the streets in most cities,or any gang area, and wear the wrong color clothes and protest.Stand up for whats right.

It doesn’t matter what he does anyway.He’s blacklisted period ! The NFL and it’s owners can’t tell me one team can’t use him. With all the QBs who CAN’T play on teams a guy who went to a SB is not wanted… It just shows what this country has come to cowards all.

Twan is a brainwashed racist always playing the race card. Here’s a bit of advice. Obey the law , stop being a menace and danger on the streets. Stop selling drugs and carrying guns . Be a productive member of society and you’ll be fine no matter what race you are. It’s that simple. If you want to be a billy bad az with a gun on the streets, then your endangering everyone and your asking to be shot. Grow up and behave like a hardworking family man. It’s not hard.

twan4timesball says:
Jun 19, 2017 11:15 AM
Sounds like the media wants Kap to do a ‘song and dance’ and beg to play in the NFL. Give massa, err these owners his word that he won’t rock the boat.

——————
Actually, every single job I have ever had did require me to start by applying for it. And then after that I was required to interview and in that speak to how I would be a good fit for the organization. And I had to sell it too. Thats just how the process works. I never saw the need to sell myself as ‘bowing to massa’ or any of the bitter spin you are putting on it. I saw it as being a responsibility to myself to go out and speak well in the interview process to earn the job I wanted, and not some sort of slight that it wasnt just given to me out of the blue without me doing that stuff.

If you see”on video” during the LA RIOTS people getting killed,assaulted,stores burned down etc. Because the color of their skin what do you call it?Baltimore riots?People that DID NOT have anything to do with what happened.What do you call that?Racism is racism no matter how you try and justify it and for anyone to ignore one side while saying the other was justified,is racist.

Poor guy. So you are saying every black person killed by the cops, had it coming? That’s what I wanted to hear. You do know that the majority of black people killed by the cops, didn’t have a gun, right? There’s that ‘grow up’ thing again. Translation: move on from this ‘slow genocide’. Here’s a word of advice: tell cops to stop killing black people for sport.

Kaepernick needs to start being accountable for his decisions. No, he doesn’t deserve a job in the NFL and I don’t think he would excel in the CFL either. It’s not the joke league many NFL fans think it is.

Notice how nobody is spreading the message of “OBEY POLICE COMMANDS”. 99% of those people having horrible things happen to them do not listen to what the Police tell them to do when they arrive at the scene.
The narrative on this is misdirected.

There is NO place for you to keep spouting.
Just because you are a mediocre player gives you no more rights to run your mouth.
The NFL, especially Goodell, should have muzzled this crap from the git-go.
Why don’t you malcontents that hate so m uch about the USA get the hell out.
Take those Bennett brothers with you, “A” hole.

He’s being shunned? The is not the Amish community. You’ve already made the case that no one knows what he wants. He hasn’t played great the last couple of years, and many fans are turned off what they consider disrespect toward the flag, the country, and the police. No one wants the baggage he brings, but let’s not pretend he’s being black-balled or “shunned.” I don’t see anyone signing Manziel, and no one is talking about him being shunned. Neither one of them are worth the problems they would bring unless they can prove otherwise. Kaepernick doesn’t know when to stop digging.

I supported Colin 100% until very recently until he formed his “Know Your Rights Camps” for kids and young people . This is nothing but indocrinating young kids to think that ALL white people are bad, that white people want to KILL all black people , ( I mean some of this stuff I could not believe I was reading on his KYR Site and FB page ) NO white people are allowed that I can see . We are bad and to be hated , that we do not want to see black men succeed, that whites do not want black people to be educated ( excuse me I voted for Prs Obama twice ) , I feel bad for Colin. Nessa is using him for her own agenda . I have to go meet 3 new young Seahawks this afternoon and I am wondering if I should go if they hate me that much .DO they hate me ? I usually have a great GREAT time with my Seahawks but now I am not sure where I stand with anyone of any color beyond white . He is promoting some serious hard core hate .